DIY 50g Stand and DIY Tank

Hello folks,

A few weeks ago i was watching my black moors chasing each other and soon after to my big surprise i found moor eggs which i decided to keep.
Check HERE for photos and updates on the fry (1.5months old at the moment!;D )

A few days later I managed to get hold of a 50g DIY Tank for free. Some problems arised though.

- The car was not large enough to transport the metal frame that was used as frame and travelling twice for an hour didnt seem reasonable for me
- The aquarium looked horrible

I then decided to start fixing things up. First of all a DIY stand. I did not take many pictures as i was thrilled by the action and felt that it wasnt necessary at that point...:-/: Anyway here are some of the pictures that i made

Pre assembly


Filling the gaps


What a mess!


First layer of paint


Final layer


Finished product with the aquarium


Another angle



This was the first time that i worked so intensively with wood and here is my experience:

-PLAN AHEAD EVERYTHING!!! I started with a rough idea and sketch and went along.
-Plan even more if planning to stain. Buy a wood that will look nice when stained and buy a good quality oil based paint (water based worked very bad for me)
-Please do make a shopping list. Thank god the DIY store is about 5minutes from here but i went there about 100 times;D
-Screw everything from inside if you can (the outer panels etc). The less holes you have to make the less filler, the less work and the nicer it will look! I tried staining the wood and the filler made it look horrible.
-Take your time. I was patient at first but when i got around the end i got to unpatient and messed up with painting
-Lay off sanding machines. I used a round sanding machine and although its fast it can easily lead to uneven surfaces if you dont do it properly (my case...thank you wood filler again LOL). I eventually went with simple hand sanding along the grain which proved nicer and more effective..

 

Next up the aquarium!

Things to do:
-Remove Algea (between glass plates so that will be a huge pain to remove)
-Replace trimmings
-Replace hood for better looking DIY hood
-Remove scratches
-Paint the wood on top

Here are 5 ideas that i had, made in photoshop
I am not sure what i want yet...

IDEA #1


IDEA #2


IDEA #3


IDEA #4


IDEA #5


Please leave any comments as which one you like the most and why

 

I would just say not 2 or 4. I can't actually tell the difference between them. I think 1,3 and 5 have a cleaner look.

 

the difference was the bottom trim
Anyway i do agree with you though..

I find option 3 less atractive as it looks a bit too dark..
I am between 1 and 5 but i THINK that i am leaning a bit more towards 5. 1 might be a bit too whitey;D

 

I like 5 the most - but 1 is also OK

nice looking build Gainnis

Steve

 

#1 looks the best IMO...

 

my vote goes for #1.

~Will.

 

#1 is my choice as well.

 

update!
i have put a few hours of work on the aquarium.
As about which one i will make it will be either 1 or 5. I think i am liking 5 the most but i am having a really hard time finding 15mm black angles..white ones are very easy to find on the contrary..very strange :S


1st i removed the wooden frame on top


Next up removal of the silicone. I tried doing this with a Filling knife which did work but went slow. I then used Bison silicone remover which virtually did nothing. Today i got a cheap glass scraping knife and it worked really well and i was able to completely remove the silicone (no picture of this yet, the picture below is after using the scraping knife)


New wood for the frame cut in shape and sanded


First layer of paint!



By the way here is something that really bugs me

that is located at the aquarium supports on top (just above the thermometer in the first picture). Any ideas or recommendations as to how to remove the green? Its not visible from outside but i dont like the thought of it being there

 

im very impressed with your work giannis. nice to see you putting the time and effort into making yourself a nice stand and tank. also good to see your idol fry growing and thriving. keep up the good work. K+